These questions have answers marked "best" by the asker.
November 28
While on vacation at the north shore of Oahu we kept seeing these poles that had a number of green circle things on top, sometimes four of them but up to seven. The pole also had an antenna and a solar panel attached to it. What are these for?
posted by zeoslap at 11:13 AM PST - 5 answers 
November 27
You're talking to some people about computers when you realize that somehow, they know even less than you do. How do you figure out what they need to hear? How do you phrase it clearly, simply and accurately, but not condescendingly? How do you know when you're screwing that up, and how do you recover? And conversely, when people talk to you about computers, how do you figure out what they mean even when they are using a different set of jargon from what you've learned, or incorrect jargon, or plain don't themselves know what they mean?
posted by d. z. wang at 10:13 PM PST - 12 answers
Two-part question regarding a potential XP/Ubuntu dual-boot setup: a)Do I still worry about viruses if I'm not accessing the internet from the XP half? b) From reading online it seems that I'll be able to access files from the XP half while in Ubuntu, but will the opposite be true?
posted by mannequito at 9:14 PM PST - 6 answers
I have several pairs of blue jeans which have ripped in the posterior section by the left pocket after about a year's worth of wear. Here's the damage:
Pants #1 and
Pants #2.
My hackish, non-seamstress attempts at mending these rips utilized a needle and thread, repeating the stitch across the rip multiple times, but this repair tends to fall apart in the wash after a wearing or two. The jeans are otherwise in fantastic shape. I recall as a little kid deploying iron-on patches on the inside of ripped pants, but this didn't work so well and eventually came loose. Does anyone have strategies to get these rips effectively mended?
I have a Jo-Ann Fabrics store on my corner where I can purchase supplies.
posted by porn in the woods at 7:03 PM PST - 7 answers
What "base oil" should be used for diluting essential oils to make perfume?
posted by skyscraper at 6:40 PM PST - 5 answers
In January, I'm leaving the US for Europe, where I'll be for the next six months, if not more. I want to buy an E-reader, so I can continue to read books in English, and also to save myself from lugging books back and forth. Given the circumstances, seems to me the best choice is to buy a Kindle 2 right now. Am I right?
posted by Busoni at 3:15 PM PST - 8 answers
My ceramic pitcher is making a clicking noise even when left alone. What is going on?
posted by AtomicBee at 2:59 PM PST - 5 answers
What are the basic steps to remove personal information off of a hard drive? (XP Home, SP3)
posted by salvia at 2:41 PM PST - 9 answers
What would be the 3 most popular widescreen resolutions to offer wallpaper at?
posted by sandra_s at 12:25 PM PST - 15 answers
My mom is a graphic designer and uses Quark. She just switched from a PowerPC based Macbook Pro to an Intel based MacBook Pro. Using the new Macbook Pro, she can't seem to open the Quark files she created using the old MacBook pro. It produces an error saying something about the processor. Is there a nice program for converting such files?
posted by aburd at 10:58 AM PST - 8 answers
Two part question: 1) What modern pop/hip-hop song has a very danceable beat and the word "melody" in it? It reminds me of "Down" by Jay Sean, but I don't think that's it.
2) How can I keep up to date on all these guilty-pleasure hip-hop singles?
posted by Precision at 10:01 AM PST - 16 answers
Can you superimpose your own created layers (kml) onto Google Street View for purposes of combining geocaching with augmented reality (would be nice to have floating icons appear during a GPS enabled scavenger hunt)
posted by rtraviscrocker at 7:35 AM PST - 8 answers
Please help me fix an internet/computer problem....I keep getting the message "Invalid Security Certificate" when I try to logon to my email accounts. I'm trying to logon to both my gmail account and my msn account and this morning I get the message "google.com uses an invalid security certificate"?
posted by dmbfan93 at 5:37 AM PST - 3 answers
Indian Cooking - I want those authentic tin plates and bowls - where?
posted by watercarrier at 3:11 AM PST - 8 answers
How can I record the output of one PC, up to resolutions of 1900x1200, via another PC or another piece of hardware?
posted by khelvan at 2:50 AM PST - 15 answers November 26
Can you identify this exotic car I saw a month ago on the highway, heading towards Stratford, Ontario? It 70s vintage, low and boxy, sort of like a Delorean or a Lamborghini with gullwing doors. Painted flat black with electric orange trim. I think it had a name like Brookline or Brooklyn.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:45 PM PST - 7 answers
If someone contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's work on climate change, for which the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, is this person a Nobel laureate? If not, what are they?
posted by PercussivePaul at 3:37 PM PST - 9 answers
If I bake a cherry pie today, will it still be at its best tomorrow night?
posted by bingoes at 2:00 PM PST - 6 answers
In OS X Snow Leopard, my calculator has escaped from the Dashboard and is always on my screen, and always on top. How can I send it back to the Dashboard?
posted by siskin at 1:58 PM PST - 2 answers
Mac: How can I share a screen, including video, without lag? Help me be a game host on a budget.
posted by lodev at 11:02 AM PST - 2 answers
"I'm not a vegetarian, I eat meat. It's not because I love the taste of meat, it's because I hate cows." Where have I heard this joke before?
posted by bunnytricks at 8:59 AM PST - 13 answers
Out of toner and out of cash. What's the cheapest way to get my laser printer (Lexmark E232) printing again? This is in Toronto.
posted by Beardman at 8:53 AM PST - 4 answers
I would like your suggestions for something I could place on my desk or computer which would clearly and visibly indicate to me and others my work status. The status I wish to illustrate is either a) Working on project X or b) not working on project X.
posted by therubettes at 7:37 AM PST - 12 answers
Beckett translation needed badly, please. En Francais. Please look up, or translate the last couple lines of The Unnameable ( L'Innommable ) for me. In English, it works out to: "I can't go on. I'll go on." What is the French?
posted by cascando at 6:00 AM PST - 5 answers November 25
My 2004 mercedes ml350 trunk door will not latch. Please help!!!
posted by ramix at 11:53 PM PST - 9 answers
What are some good places to get information about digital publishing?
posted by jonathanstrange at 11:19 PM PST - 3 answers
Does anyone have "hidden camera" footage of people from the 1950s and before having candid conversations? When they're giving prepared/on-camera remarks in any footage I watch, people seem very very stilted - like unskilled actors. I'm wondering if this was just the style of the "public voice" at the time, or if people actually talked to each other in day to day conversations this way
posted by crayz at 11:16 PM PST - 14 answers
What is the smartest and easiest way for a new non-profit society with limited financial and volunteer resources to create donation receipts?
posted by nelvana at 9:41 PM PST - 6 answers
A month ago we purchased decorative mini corn cobs that looked a lot like the "mini indian corn" on
this page. Attached to the cobs were instructions (now misplaced) that gave instructions to soak and then pop the corn. The decorative phase for the corn is waning, and we're ready to pop it. How?
posted by quinoa at 9:39 PM PST - 7 answers
What is the potential risk, and legality, of my idea for a prank: sending the entirety of Romeo and Juliet in text messages to a friend.
posted by Askiba at 7:28 PM PST - 36 answers
Looking for examples of movies in which the heroine takes off her glasses and becomes cool/pretty/better... And ideas for encouraging the practice to stop.
posted by meindee at 5:53 PM PST - 55 answers
Does anyone know what the source text of this D.H. Lawrence quotation is, or if it's even correctly attributed to him? Quotation inside.
posted by oinopaponton at 4:07 PM PST - 2 answers
Which Python GUI framework is right for someone new to GUI programming? But who may also aspire to open source community (linux) development/involvement? Cross platform, wonderful documentation/tutorials, and cruft-free new technology are also welcome.
posted by cowbellemoo at 3:46 PM PST - 13 answers
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